Free-floating thrombus of the carotid artery: literature review and case reports

BACKGROUND: Free-floating thrombus (FFT) of the carotid artery is an uncommon entity that usually presents as an acute emergency. Management is based on case reports and series because the natural history and optimal treatment are unknown. This study was conducted to systematically review the world literature in an attempt to better understand FFT, its presentation, distribution, management, and outcome. METHOD: A literature search in all languages was performed of the PubMed database (> or =1950s) and Medline database (1966-November 2004). All relevant articles were reviewed and their references analyzed in a similar manner for further literature. Cases from the authors' institutions were reviewed as well. All cases within the reports were individually assessed for inclusion or exclusion. Inclusion required that the FFT originate or anchor within the carotid artery (ie, excluding emboli, arch thrombi with extensions into the carotid artery), be partially occluding (ie, excluding occlusions, "string-sign," microscopic thrombus), and ideally have an elongated or protrusive morphology, circumferential flow around the distal portion, and cyclical motion with the cardiac cycles. RESULTS: There were 61 reports reviewed, of which 43 contained FFT cases. These reports had 342 cases (including the current series) that were reviewed, of which 145 met our inclusion criteria. A database was created for qualitative and quantitative assessment of all cases. When data were pooled, appropriate statistical analysis was performed. A limitation of the study is that FFT is under-reported and ill defined, which limited the analysis in quantity and quality. In addition, reporting is not uniform, and therefore, significant data were not always present. In attempting to define FFT and include or exclude cases, subjectivity is inherent. CONCLUSIONS: FFT is more frequently reported in men than women, with a ratio of nearly 2:1 (P < .0001), and at a younger age than in most patients with carotid disease (P < .0001 when compared with North American Symptomatic Carotid Endarterectomy Trial, European Carotid Surgery Trial, and Asymptomatic Carotid Surgery Trial). Symptoms are present in 92% of patients. There was a trend for patients with FFT to be hypercoagulable (47% of those serologically tested). The internal carotid artery was the most commonly affected (75%), with atherosclerosis being the most common associated pathology. Medical and surgical management have both been used, with neither clearly superior to the other. Medical management for stabilizing neurologic deficits has less risk and less benefit than surgical intervention.     

Successful covered stent-graft exclusion of carotid artery pseudo-aneurysm: two case reports and review of literature

Postendarterectomy carotid artery pseudo-aneurysm (CPA) is a relatively infrequent complication with an estimated incidence of 0.3%-0.6%. A report from a single center experience on open-surgical repair of CPA has shown the associated high morbidity and mortality. Endovascular therapy is emerging as a safer alternative to open-surgical therapy. We describe two cases of CPA treated with commercially available Viabahn stent graft system (Gore AL, Flagstaff, AZ).     

Unilateral absence of the external carotid artery: three case reports

We encountered three cases of unilateral absence of the external carotid artery. We were able to find only Franklin's case reported in the literature published to date. The absence of the external carotid artery has been explained as due to the fact that the development of the external carotid artery arising from the ventral aorta was disturbed by unknown factors in the early embryonic stage. In the process of embryonal development, the internal carotid artery and branchial arteries (that are to be components of the external carotid artery) have remained without connection and without development of the ECA trunk. The final result is that the branches of the external carotid artery originate directly from the carotid artery. The existence of dextrocardia in case 2 and an azygos anterior cerebral artery in case 3 suggests that the absence of the external carotid artery occurred during the early embryonal stage due to unknown factors. Angiography is essential to make a diagnosis of the absence of the external carotid artery. However this time ultrasound sonography was very helpful towards further delineation of ulceration and thickening of the intima-media complex that were not diagnosed by angiography. The ultrasound sonographic findings and operative findings revealed characteristic rudimentary findings of ECA aplasia. In particular, this ulceration has a shape like a broad-based volcano that is hollow inside.     

Stenotic coiling and kinking of the internal carotid artery

Between January 1979 and December 1991, 174 of a total of 2304 carotid reconstructions (7.5%) were performed in 166 patients for stenotic coiling or kinking of the internal carotid artery. There was a 1.4 male predominance and the mean age of the patients was 66.3 ± 9.6 years (range 38 to 91 years). Seventeen patients (9.8%) were asymptomatic, 54 (31%) were symptomatic because of a previous stroke, and 103 (59.2%) had had transient ischemic attacks. The symptoms were hemispheric in 108 (62.1%) cases, ocular in 19 (10.9%), and vertebrobasilar in 30 (17.2%). The stenotic coiling or kinking was isolated in 35 (20.1%) cases and associated with other lesions of the internal carotid artery in 139 (79.9%). These included 119 atherosclerotic stenoses, 14 aneurysms, and six stenotic lesions due to fibromuscular dysplasia. Angioplasty of the carotid bifurcation was performed in 102 (58.6%) patients, associated with endarterectomy in 84 (48.3%) cases and with dilatation of dysplastic lesions in six (3.5%) cases. A bypass graft and resection and anastomosis of the carotid artery were performed in 36 (20.7%) patients each. There were four postoperative deaths (2.3%): two were due to neurologic causes, one to heart disease, and one to complications of an associated surgical procedure. Five patients (2.9%) had postoperative strokes and eight (4.6%) had transient ischemic attacks. At postoperative follow-up investigations four (2.3%) patients had carotid occlusions and 10 (5.7%) had morphologic abnormalities. At 5 years, actuarial survival was 80.97 ± 8.8%, patency was 96.12 ± 2.95%, and the ipsilateral stroke-free rate was 93.12 ± 4.49%. Treatment of stenotic coiling or kinking of the internal carotid artery yields satisfactory results, comparable to those of endarterectomy, for isolated atherosclerotic carotid stenoses and is effective in the prevention of ipsilateral ischemic stroke.Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Société de Chirurgie Vasculaire de Langue Française, Reims, France, June 19–20, 1992.     

Mycotic cervical carotid artery aneurysms: A case report and review of the literature

Mycotic cervical carotid artery aneurysms are rare. We report one case successfully treated by resection and reconstruction with a saphenous vein interposition graft. A review of the English world literature revealed 22 additional cases. Principles of management include appropriate and timely antibiotic use, resection of the aneurysm, debridement of all infected tissue, and restoration of arterial continuity with autogenous tissue through uninvolved tissue planes.     

Appendicular mucocele: two case reports and literature review

The classification of mucinous tumors of the vermiform appendix is quite controversial, and includes a spectrum of neoplastic lesions ranging from benign proliferations, intraluminal, to invasive adenocarcinomas. Among the complications of appendicular mucinous neoplasms we should mention the “pseudomyxoma peritonei”, a condition caused by cancerous cells (mucinous adenocarcinoma) that produce abundant mucin or gelationous ascites. Mucinous neoplasms of the appendix are rare diseases of unknown etiology. The diagnosis is difficult because of poorly specific clinical, biochemical and imaging parameters, and their detection can be occasional. Most of the reported cases involving women of reproductive age (with a history of endometriosis, abdominal surgery or pelvic inflammatory disease). The definitive diagnosis requires histology and immunohistochemistry. Cytoredutive surgery combined with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemoterapy (HIPEC) is now considered the best treatment for this disease.We present two cases treated with surgery and HIPEC.     

Surgical approach to kinking and coiling of the internal carotid artery

AIM: Whether kinking or coiling of the internal carotid artery (ICA) simply represents a morphological variation without clinical relevance still remains an object of debate. While most patients are incidentally diagnosed in an asymptomatic state due to the broad use of non-invasive investigations (like colour coded Doppler sonography), associated neurological deficits are often unspecific and might be related to coexisting proximal stenotic lesions. Its etiology is unclear. Beside artherosclerotic genesis, a persistent embryological condition or underlying fibromuscular dysplasia is discussed. Moreover, in contrast to precise recommendations concerning the indication for endarteriectomy in carotid artery stenosis, general guidelines for surgical intervention in case of kinking or coiling are not yet established. METHODS: The characteristics of 16 patients who underwent a total of 21 reconstructive operations for isolated kinking or coiling of the ICA during 5 years of observation were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: In 10 out of 14 kinkings and 5 out of 7 coilings central nervous symptoms were noted including unspecific vertigo, syncope, tinnitus synchronous to pulse, transient ischemic attacks and manifest cerebral infarction. All these individual complaints disappeared postoperatively. In 1 patient presenting with an ICA coiling histological examination revealed signs of fibromuscular dysplasia. The other specimens showed typical changes of artherosclerotic disease. CONCLUSION: By precluding significant proximal stenosis and effective elimination of symptoms after surgical correction, a causal connection between cerebral dysfunction and severe ICA kinking or coiling can be supposed. An actual abnormality of the arterial wall structure only exists in exceptional cases. Rather, a sequential development from kinking to coiling was noticed.     

Aplasia of the right internal carotid artery presenting with callosal hemorrhage: case report and review of the literature

A 73-year-old woman without a history of cerebral ischemia suffered from sudden onset headache. Brain computed tomography (CT) showed intracerebral hemorrhage in the corpus callosum with intraventricular hemorrhage and thin subarachnoid hemorrhage in the basal cistern. Cerebral angiography showed narrowing of the right internal carotid artery just distal to its origin in the neck and abrupt occlusion just after branching of the ophthalmic artery with moyamoya-like vessels. The right A2 segment showed irregular dilatation and stenosis. The right middle cerebral artery was supplied from the basilar artery via the right posterior communicating artery. There was neither aneurysm nor arteriovenous malformation. Thin-slice bone-window CT of the skull base revealed hypoplasia of the right carotid canal. Aplasia of the right internal carotid artery was diagnosed. The origin of the hemorrhage was thought to be the irregularly opacified right A2 segment, which had been subjected to long-standing hemodynamic stress as collateral vessel.     

Central neurocytoma: two case reports and review of the literature

Central neurocytomas are low grade tumours usually located in the lateral ventricles next to Monro foramina. This paper reviews the literature on central neurocytomas observed in the last few years and discusses their clinical, histopathological, immunohistochemical and genetic characteristics. Important correlations between therapeutic strategies and biological findings as well as new genetic discoveries are also discussed. Two illustrative cases in which the authors report preliminary results about molecular analysis of some genetic markers are described.     

Right subclavian artery aneurysms of fibrodysplastic origin: two case reports and review of literature

Right subclavian aneurysms involving the intrathoracic portion of the artery are rare and those of fibrodysplastic origin are mentioned in literature only as sporadic cases. In this article, we present two cases of this uncommon pathologic condition and discuss problems concerning diagnostic tools and technical choices. The two patients underwent a successful vascular graft substitution; an echo-Doppler scan revealed that they had no disease 1 and 2 years after the operation.     

阴茎完全离断再植二例报告并文献复习

目的 探讨阴茎完全离断再植的方法. 方法 回顾性分析2例阴茎完全离断再植患者资科并复习文献.例1,34岁.被入以利刃切断阴茎3.5h后入院.查体:阴茎断端距根部2.5 cm.端端吻合阴茎海绵体、尿道海绵体和尿道,显微外科技术吻合阴茎背动脉、背深静脉、背神经.例2,25岁.自行用菜刀将阴茎砍伤后15h入院.查体:距阴茎根部3 cm处阴茎完全离断,距阴茎根部2 cm处阴茎2/3部分离断.因阴茎被断为两处,不易分离吻合,仅吻合阴茎海绵体、尿道海绵体和尿道. 结果 例1术后阴茎充血、红润、恢复血供;术后阴茎皮肤坏死,出现尿道海绵体吻合口瘘.经清创减压,换药,修补尿瘘,阴茎埋入阴囊皮瓣;2个月后再次手术,将埋入的阴茎阴囊断蒂处理.伤口愈合良好,排尿正常.随访2年,阴茎外观良好,能自主勃起,无感觉异常.例2术后阴茎皮肤坏死严重,彩色多普勒超声检查阴茎未见血流,清创未见鲜活组织,伴有全身感染症状,切除移植物. 结论 阴茎离断伤早期及时治疗十分重要,静脉回流是阴茎离断再植成功的关键.阴茎背静脉、阴茎动脉和背神经显微外科手术吻合是阴茎再植的“标准”方法,阴囊双蒂皮瓣是阴茎再植术后并发症良好的修补材料.     

Unilateral cervical facet fracture: presentation of two cases and literature review

STUDY DESIGN: Two patients with diagnosis of unilateral cervical facet fracture due to motor vehicle accident (MVA) are presented, and the literature is reviewed. OBJECTIVE: To discuss the diagnostic difficulties and management strategies in two patients with post-traumatic cervical facet fracture. SETTING: Department of Neurosurgery, Zonguldak Karaelmas University, Faculty of Medicine, Turkey. SUBJECT: Nonoperative treatment with immobilization was preferred in two female cases (33-34 years old) with diagnosis of C6-7 facet fracture following MVA. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could be performed in acute period in the first case, but not in the second because of inadequate technical condition. RESULT: The first case with a good compliance to immobilization recovered without any neurological complication. However, the second case mobilized earlier and used a collar irregularly. Instability developed in the second case on the second month and surgical intervention with anterior approach was performed. CONCLUSION: The diagnosis of unilateral facet fractures is often missed and the treatment is still controversial. The compliance of the patient to cervical immobilization in nonoperative treatment plays a very important role in the development of late complications. MRI in the acute period may be useful in determining instability.     

A case of ruptured internal carotid artery "kissing aneurysms": case report and review of the literature

OBJECTIVE: A rare case of ruptured kissing aneurysms on the right internal carotid-posterior communicating artery (ICPCA) and -anterior choroidal artery (ICAchA) is reported. CASE: A 47-year-old female was transferred to our hospital because of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Cerebral angiography revealed two aneurysms on the right ICPCA and ICAchA. Right frontotemporal craniotomy was performed to obliterate them on the day of admission. Despite the presence of angiographical cleavage, these two aneurysms were attached to each other tightly, and it was extremely difficult to dissect the space between them and premature rupture occurred. A Sugita long straight clip was inserted parallel to internal carotid artery to obliterate the body of ICAchA aneurysm and the neck of ICPCA aneurysm. Another straight clip was applied to the neck of the former aneurysm. Both PCA and AchA could be secured successfully. Postoperatively, although she developed symptomatic vasospasm on the 10th day, she discharged without any neurological deficits 40 days later. CONCLUSIONS: Because of the difficulty in dissection of aneurysms, the operation for kissing aneurysms has been recognized as hazardous and challenging since Jefferson. We emphasize that a clipping technique described above should be kept in mind as a safe value, though meticulous dissection of each aneurysmal neck followed by independent neck clipping is reasonable.     

Open and endovascular repair of hepatic artery aneurysm: two case reports and review of the literature

Hepatic artery aneurysms (HAAs) represent a complex and often lethal condition. An 80-year-old woman with polyarteritis nodosa and a right hepatic lobe HAA underwent endovascular repair with coils. Her case was complicated by intraoperative HAA rupture requiring exploratory laparotomy. In the second case, a 37-year-old man with a large HAA underwent open repair with a bifurcated graft that extended from the common hepatic artery to the left and right hepatic arteries. These two cases highlight the difficulty of managing HAAs, and provide insight into their treatment. Furthermore, our review of the literature highlights the data on the management of HAAs, including the natural history of this disease process, the indications for repair and the optimal treatment modality.     

Transradial stenting of the cervical internal carotid artery: technical case report

OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE: We describe a case of endoluminal stent placement for a cervical internal carotid artery stenosis in which percutaneous access was obtained via the radial artery. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: A 69-year-old man with known disease of the carotid, peripheral, and coronary arteries as well as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease presented for endoluminal revascularization of a severe, progressive right internal carotid artery stenosis. TECHNIQUE: Transfemoral access was complicated by the previous placement of a synthetic graft as the result of a previous right-to-left iliofemoral artery bypass procedure and an aortoiliac occlusion. A transradial approach was successfully attempted, and a Precise stent (Cordis Endovascular, Miami Lakes, FL) was successfully placed through a 6-French guide sheath. CONCLUSION: The transradial approach is becoming an increasingly viable alternative route for stent placement in patients with contraindicated or complicated femoral access routes. As devices become increasingly more pliable and smaller, the transradial route will be used with increasing frequency in this select patient population for stenting of both the cervical and intracranial circulation.